


Detouring

by OnlyStraightForJongup



Category: B.A.P
Genre: Adventure, Alternate Universe - Band, Alternate Universe - Road Trip, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Generally Heartwarming, Humor, and by that i mean theyre still a band but, not really bap? idk just go with it
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2017-12-19
Updated: 2017-12-19
Packaged: 2019-02-16 17:24:36
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 4,361
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13058664
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/OnlyStraightForJongup/pseuds/OnlyStraightForJongup
Summary: Himchan and Daehyun planned on a small road trip, but in normal Jung Daehyun fashion, the plans quickly go awry.  Whether it’s Himchan’s fault or not - well, they won’t talk about that.  With the stars above their heads and the grasses swaying in the breeze, neither of them really thinks it matters anyway.





	Detouring

**Author's Note:**

> Just a bit of happy, sweet himdae :) Please enjoy!

“Oh look, horses!” Daehyun pointed at the window, his finger leaving a smear on the glass as their car rushed past on the highway. Himchan tried not to sigh as he added another mark to the dozen or so he’d already left in the past couple hours. “Did you see them?” He glanced over at Himchan.

“No, I’m driving.”

“So? You totally could’ve looked; it’s not like there’s much happening.” He had a point, Himchan realized. The road had evened out, turning into a well-maintained flat road stretching through the countryside. 

Actually – wow, Himchan hadn’t driven on a road with this few potholes in a hell of a long time. Even the yellow and white lines looked fresh and stark against the dark pavement. With the new realizations breaking the boredom of an endless road, Himchan glanced towards the side of the road, hoping for a glimpse of Daehyun’s horses.

Some plant with large leaves – not corn, Himchan knew what that one looked like, at least – lined one side of the road, and a small grove of trees bordered the other with unruly vines and bushing growing below them. Behind those stood a neat brown fence, not too tall and seemingly more there to keep people out than to keep the horses in. 

Himchan got a glimpse of a large, brown horse before he returned his eyes to the road.

“Take this exit!” Daehyun pointed towards a thin road leading off the highway. Himchan hesitated, hitting the break and seeing Daehyun’s wide smile. Never a good sign. 

“Why?” He asked too late, already turning off the highway. Daehyun motioned for him to turn right. Himchan did, listening to the GPS announce “recalculating!” in that chipper voice full of scorn at his failure to follow the right route. 

“Horses!” Daehyun said, flashing another wide grin as they began to drive along the pasture. “Let’s go see if they come over.” Himchan sighed, slowing the car and pulling it off along the road. 

“Only for a couple minutes. We’ve got a long way to go tonight.” 

Daehyun waved a careless hand. “C’mon, don’t be so stuck up. We’re on a road trip – you can’t plan every second of it. Sometimes you gotta be spontaneous.” 

“This whole trip was spontaneous, and that’s enough for me.”

“Pfft.” Daehyun rolled his eyes, grinning at Himchan’s raised eyebrow. “That’s not enough. The natural state’s chaos, y’know?” 

“With you?” Himchan said, pausing for a moment too long before continuing. “Always.”

“C’mon, you know what I mean,” Daehyun said, his smile stretched across his face like it would never leave. Himchan somewhat doubted it would. “It’s just entropy. That’s a law, law of physics. You need randomness in your life, unexpected stuff. Changes in the environment. Stochast– ”

“Fine! Fine, we’ll stop,” Himchan said, holding back a laugh but unable to suppress a smile. “But still, not too long. I’d prefer to sleep in a bed tonight and not in some cornfield.” Daehyun ignored the dry note in his voice, glancing at him with a wide smile before undoing his seatbelt and bouncing out of the car.

Himchan watched him, letting out a small chuckle before getting out himself – in a much calmer fashion, of course. He’d never admit it, but Daehyun’s constant energy and his wonder at everything around him managed to lighten Himchan’s days.

And he had a lot of long, long days, so when Daehyun admitted he didn’t know what to do on their couple days off after a venue canceled on them, Himchan agreed to go on a short trip with him. The other had gone to see friends or family, but with only three days, both Himchan’s and Daehyun’s lived too far away for it to make sense.

Still, Himchan didn’t know why Daehyun wanted to travel – not when they seemed to spend every other day in Yongguk’s van, passing around the aux cord amid constant bickering and off-key singing – mostly from Daehyun himself, though both Junhong and Youngjae could give him a run for his money when they were in the mood. 

Himchan would have picked a much more sedentary way to spend the few days, but Daehyun loved moving around and seeing new places more than anyone Himchan had ever met – except maybe Junhong, who seemed to have grown into a state of persistent restlessness in the years since they’d began the band. 

Maybe he’d ask Daehyun someday why he liked the constant motion so much, but Himchan doubted he even knew – doubted Daehyun even realized he wanted to keep moving.

He would’ve called it making memories, pursuing the fast lane of life and not letting time pass without notice. Himchan respected him for that, not that he’d ever admit it, considering Daehyun’s “making memories” also included singing ridiculous songs so loudly that people in other cars would glance at them at red lights. 

Himchan had felt sorry for those people at first, until they drove away, free from the loud noise Daehyun somehow managed to emit for hours and left him trapped there with it.

He wondered sometimes if any of them recognized him and Daehyun. Perhaps knowing it was a professional singer hitting those loud falsettos would make the experience more enjoyable. It didn’t for Himchan, but considering he was also a professional musician, maybe he didn’t count.

A sharp shout interrupting his musing, and Himchan glanced over to see Daehyun had climbed onto the horizontal bottom of the fence and began to yell, waving his arms at the horses. Himchan walked over, making a wide arc around a pile of horse shit on the road. Wonderful. At least it smelled pungent enough that it would be hard to forget about and step in.

Daehyun didn’t notice him as he approached, too busy staring down a beautiful golden-brown horse. With the setting sun behind it, the horse’s coat gleamed. Himchan glanced at Daehyun and saw his eyes also gleaming from the reflection of the evening sun. 

He looked so excited, calling out for the horse and not caring how childish it looked. Even with the obnoxious side to Daehyun, Himchan had to appreciate his ability to do that.

Himchan never minded showing off things he knew he did well; he’d never been particularly blind to his own talents and certainly not one to hide what he knew he could do.

This was different. Daehyun had every reason to not hide his singing ability – he was a damn good lead, and everyone who heard him knew it (though perhaps not when he decided to serenade whoever happened to be in any surrounding cars). 

Himchan had gotten better over the years, better at not thinking he needed to be perfect all the time, but it still sometimes nagged at his mind – tiny thoughts about not looking stupid or making sure everyone thought he was good enough.

Daehyun didn’t think about that to the extent Himchan did.

But that wasn’t right either. Daehyun had an insecure streak to him that showed up – most often about what he couldn’t change about himself.

Maybe he just had no reason to hold back around Himchan.

No matter the reason, Himchan was glad it happened because Daehyun’s loud laugh as the horse trotted over might have been one of the best things Himchan had ever heard.

“Be quieter,” Himchan advised, his own voice almost too quiet for Daehyun to hear over his shouting. “You’ll scare them.” Daehyun nodded, dropping his voice and moving off the fence. Himchan took a step closer, leaning against the splintering wood. 

The horse came straight up to the fence, letting both of them reach out and run their fingers along its silky fur. Daehyun’s fingers moved through its mane, and his open-mouthed look of wonder – how easy it was to make Daehyun so happy! – caused Himchan’s smile to grow into a full out grin, and he laughed too.

The horse huffed, letting out a huge breath, and Himchan realized it had been years since he’d seen a horse up close, let alone touched one. For all their traveling, they rarely left cities to explore the countryside. 

Himchan had never even realized he missed seeing the rolling fields and farm animals, but with his fingers touching the horse’s silky coat, his heart had jumped with a very different sort of excitement than he normally felt.

Both he and Daehyun were still giggling, and with the horse’s huffing, it sounded as though all three of them were having a grand time. Further back in the pasture, a bay-colored horse stood, raising its head to watch them.

Daehyun turned to look at Himchan, his entire face crinkling with his huge smile. “They’re so big!” he said, somehow making even a hissed whisper loud. 

“I know,” Himchan said. “He’s beautiful.”

The sun had dipped behind the trees by the time the horse stepped away, no doubt heading towards wherever it spent the night – perhaps a barn? Himchan didn’t know much about horses.

“We should have dinner out here,” Daehyun said, grinning after the horse. “It’s so pretty.”

Himchan had to agree. With the fading sun, the heat no longer felt suffocating, and the grass swayed from a light breeze. Part of him pushed to get them back on the road, wanting to head on their way so they got to the motel at a decent hour. 

But he hadn’t gone somewhere with so much natural beauty in a long time, and they did have dinner packed up in the back of the car.

He agreed, moving back to their car to grab their food bag from the back. Himchan had told Daehyun he refused to listen to him whine about food and forced him to pack them dinner for the night, knowing they’d drive through a long stretch of rural area with no nearby places to stop. 

Himchan hadn’t imagined a picnic, but Daehyun’s smile as he grabbed his blanket from the front made it all worth it. They’d brought the thin blanket to avoid any temperature-related arguments along the ride – something all too common in Yongguk’s van – but Himchan figured it fit its new purpose well enough.

Tonight, the air still carried a little too much heat, but the breeze made up for it. “Let’s go over there,” Daehyun said, pointing at a long expanse of field not far from them. 

“Sounds good.” Himchan headed towards it, swatting a stray mosquito off his arm as they went. The grass proved higher than they’d thought, growing to near knee-height. “We’re out of here if I see a spider.”

“It’s getting dark; you won’t see them,” Daehyun said.

“That does not make it better!” 

Daehyun laughed, shaking his head. His hair blew in the wind, and it still was bright enough for the light to catch his eyes. “Spiders won’t hurt you. It’s the ticks you gotta look out for.”

“I swear to god, Jung Daehyun, if I get Lyme picnicking out in a field with you, I’m going to kill you.”

“You can only threaten me so many times before it stops working,” Daehyun said, grinning at him before he led the way through the field. Himchan rolled his eyes and followed after him. 

Typical. Dahyun never could walk behind people, always pushing to lead. For as much as Himchan found it annoying, watching Daehyun scamper through the scratchy grass made it hard to hold back a wide smile.

He didn’t have to hold back a smile, and so he let himself grin. As Daehyun neared the middle of the field – or at least far enough it gave them the illusion that they were surrounded by it – he held onto one edge of the blanket and tossed the rest into the air, attempting to spread it out. 

The breeze caught it and blew it back towards him, leaving him with a pile of blanket under his feet. He glanced at Himchan, pouting over his failure, but when he gathered the other edge again, Himchan pulled it from his grasp, spreading it out with him. 

They sat on the blanket, leaning against each other as Daehyun rooted through the bag, pulling out two small plastic containers and a larger one, which he opened to reveal rice.

“It’s not warm,” he said, frowning. “I was running low on time, so I had to grab something quick.” 

Himchan waved off his concerns. “It’s fine,” he said. Normally, he’d complain about the meal – if he’d eaten it in the car, he certainly would have. Perhaps he even would have elected to wait until they got to the hotel to eat at all.

But under the emerging stars and with the background noise of the highway quieted by the breeze, he found he didn’t mind the cold food. 

For a long time, they ate in a comfortable silence. Two of the loudest in the band, even their own bandmates rarely associated silence with them – especially with Daehyun. But sometimes the break from constant noise and overload and work felt amazing.

Even with Daehyun’s constant push to keep moving, Himchan thought he’d agree with that assessment too. He’d caught Daehyun in rare moments of contemplation where he stopped and just smiled out the window of the van, watching the world go by around them.

Himchan yawned, pausing between bites and half-covering his mouth.

“Holy fuck!” Daehyun interrupted his yawn, jerking to his feet and jumping several feet away into the grass.

“Are you okay?” Himchan said, frowning as he considered whether to stand and help.

“There was a spider…” Daehyun’s wide eyes and open mouth became a sheepish smile. Himchan frowned, immediately looking down.

“Really?” Himchan looked at the blanket, using his phone to ensure it wasn’t near him. “What happened to not being afraid?” he asked.

“I’m not afraid –” 

“So you screamed and ran away for the fun of it?”

“Yeah, exactly,” Daehyun said, grinning as he sat again. “Gotta keep you on your toes, right?”

Himchan snorted, not even dignifying that with a real reply. He planned to glare at Daehyun, but a large yawn interrupted him. Daehyun’s eyes softened.

“I can drive the rest of the way if you’d like.” He nudged Himchan with his shoulder, as though he needed to clarify he was addressing Himchan.

“If you don’t mind,” he said. “I’m getting pretty tired.”

“Long day,” Daehyun agreed. “But not a bad one.”

Himchan shook his head. “I’m glad we did this,” he said, making Daehyun flash a brilliant grin at him, “but don’t get me wrong – I wanted to shove you out of the car for most of it.”

Daehyun laughed. “I’m not that bad. I keep things interesting.”

“That you do,” Himchan said. His dry voice contrasted how he sincerely agreed with Daehyun. “You make things very interesting whenever I want a few moments peace.”

Daehyun poked his side, giggling when he flinched. “Admit it, you enjoy having me around.”

“I just wanted to make sure you didn’t get lost. If you did this alone who knows where you’d end up.”

“Liar.”

“Can’t lose our lead singer somewhere,” Himchan continued, grinning when Daehyun hit him with his shoulder. “Can you imagine the press?”

Daehyun let out an amused breath. “Popular singer Jung Dae –”

“Don’t flatter yourself.”

 _“’Very_ popular singer, Jung Daehyun, leaves the band to live with horses.’” Daehyun laughed again, and the sound pierced the quiet air around them. The soft breeze seemed to carry it away from them, leaving it hanging for even longer in the air. “Not a bad life.”

Himchan scoffed. “Fans would think you’re some modern Thoreau, going off to learn from trees.”

“Fans’d think I’m crazy,” Daehyun corrected. “Besides, I think Yongguk’s more the type for that; I’m too loud to hear nature.”

“You are very loud,” Himchan said, nodding in agreement. 

Daehyun chuckled, not offended in the least. “Thanks,” he said. “For coming with me. This has been fun.”

“Don’t thank me yet,” Himchan said. “I still haven’t decided whether I’m going to make you walk home next time you start singing in the car.”

“I’m just helping you stay awake,” Daehyun said, all wide eyes and innocence. “If I wasn’t singing then what would you do? You’d be falling asleep at the wheel and putting us in danger.” Himchan scoffed – or he tried to, but the mention of sleep made him let out another huge yawn. “See!” Daehyun grinned and pointed at him.

“You’re the driver now; it’s okay that I’m tired.” 

“Does that mean you’ll be the one singing?” Daehyun asked. Himchan chuckled, gathering the plastic containers and putting them back into the bag. Daehyun jumped to his feet and held out a hand, which Himchan took to stand up, letting out a groan as he did so.

“No. It’ll still be you because you never stop.” 

Daehyun waved the comment away. “Pfft. You enjoy it. I’m an amazing singer.”

“I think if any fans heard your car singing they’d think you got possessed.” Himchan grinned as Daehyun pouted at him. He imagined their fans would find the singing adorable – assuming they weren’t also in the car with him. Their fans never did seem capable of finding Daehyun’s antics annoying. 

While Himchan thought that may be because _they_ never had to live with him, he also had to agree. Daehyun had matured into an amazing musician and a good person. They all had, over the years. 

Himchan slapped at more mosquitos as they walked back towards the car, lamenting how he wouldn’t escape this excursion without any bites. He handed the keys to Daehyun, still grateful he wouldn’t need to drive the last couple hours. 

Himchan heard the click of the lock and opened the door, sliding into the seat. He registered that something seemed weird, right when Daehyun got in beside him, but he couldn’t put his finger on what.

Daehyun didn’t say anything, so he banished it from his mind. Everything about this was weird – how often did he and Daehyun get into his car in the dark, surrounded by fields and horses? Himchan leaned back, closing his eyes.

He looked forward to taking a nap for the next of the ride. One of the perks of so much travel meant he’d learned to enjoy sleeping anywhere, and car seats were more comfortable than an airplane any day. 

“Um. Hyung?” He blinked open his eyes, wrinkles appearing in his forehead as he registered Daehyun’s serious tone. Wide, worried eyes met his own, and Daehyun said nothing, only staring at him. 

Himchan saw his hand still on the key, which he’d turned in the ignition. For a long second, he didn’t register the problem.

Then it hit him, jumpstarting his heart as though something had physically thumped against his chest. The car hadn’t turned on. At the same moment, he recognized what had been strange when he’d gotten into the car: the overhead light hadn’t turned on either.

“It won’t start?” Daehyun said, finally, as though he hadn’t already left Himchan to figure it out. “What do I do?” His huge eyes made him look more like the kid Himchan had just remembered. 

“Try it again,” Himchan said, as though it already didn’t look pointless. He knew the signs of a dead battery, and when he leaned back to peer at the headlight toggle, Himchan saw the headlights were on but not working. “I must’ve left the headlights on.” 

His heart jumped into his throat, and he took a calming breath to shove it down. He could handle this. Himchan had dealt with car problems before; hell, their van had broken down only a year ago. 

Except that time, Yongguk had gotten out and called someone to tow them, and they’d been in a populated area, and it hadn’t been the middle of the night.

“I’ll look up who to call.” Stay calm, he ordered himself. Daehyun tried to key several more times, looking more and more desperate with each turn. “Daehyun, stop,” Himchan said, blinking at the bright light from his phone. 

“What are we going to do?” His phone illuminated Daehyun’s face, catching in his eyes and highlighting the anxiety in them.

“Hey, you’re the one who likes adventures,” Himchan said, doing his best to keep his voice light. Daehyun saw through it – it was hard not to. They all knew each other so well that they’d stopped being able to fool each other years ago.

“Do you know how to fix it?” Daehyun asked, chewing on his lip. 

“Don’t do that; you’ll make them bleed.” Himchan waved towards his lips, and Daehyun obeyed, instead tapping his fingers against his leg to betray his anxiety. He sighed. “Not without another car here. I can look up the number for a tow truck though.”

“Will they come in the middle of the night?” Daehyun asked.

“We’ll find out,” Himchan said. Already his heart had begun to calm down. In some ways, he appreciated how nervous Daehyun looked with the situation. He’d always found it easier to hold it together when he had to for someone else. “They should. We’re not far off the highway.” 

Daehyun had started chewing on his lip again, but Himchan didn’t try to stop him again.

“Hey,” he said, flashing a grin at Daehyun. “Worst case we call Bbang and make him come get us. It’ll be okay.”

His joke had the desired effect, making Daehyun smile back at him. “That’s not a bad idea.”

“I would do it,” Himchan said, shameless as he admitted it. “If we weren’t three hours away.” Daehyun nodded, agreeing with him. “Aha!” He’d finally found the phone number for the tow company. 

He dialed the number, following the recorded voice’s directions to reach a real-life person. “Daehyun, what road are we on?” he asked, realizing as it rang that he hadn’t paid attention. Daehyun shook his head, eyes widening again. Himchan pulled his phone from his ear, checking his GPS.

He moved it back to his ear just in time to hear a man greet him. “Hello! Ah, yes. We’re broken down. It’s the battery? On Hazelnut Road, off route eight.” As the man prompted him, Himchan read his insurance information and made small agreeing sounds, until he mentioned the time it would take to get there.

“Two hours?” Himchan echoed, frowning. “Ah, yes. That’s okay. I understand. Right, goodbye.”

“Two hours?” Daehyun asked. Himchan nodded.

“There was a big accident tonight. They have to clean it up first. Plus, we’re in the middle of nowhere.”

“I noticed,” Daehyun said. He offered Himchan a weak smile, but as he watched, it grew into an amused grin. “Aren’t you supposed to know this stuff? Your sister’s a mechanic.”

“Right, because if she knows it then I must.”

“You mean you don’t?” Daehyun looked at him open-mouthed, as though honestly surprised. Himchan snorted. “I totally know how to do my brother’s job.”

“He’s a doctor.”

“So? I’m multi-talented.”

Himchan snorted at Daehyun’s absurdity. “What talents?"

“Well, singing, obviously. And - um...” Daehyun paused, stumped as he tried to think of something. Himchan waited for as long as he could before beginning to laugh. “Wait!” Daehyun pushed a hand against Himchan’s shoulder, repeating the motion when he only laughed harder. “I’m thinking!”

“Give up,” Himchan suggested. “Otherwise you’ll take the whole two hours.”

Daehyun opened one of the doors, letting in the night breeze, which still stirred the grasses around them. “At least the time would go quick,” Daehyun said. “There’s worse ways to spend it.”

Himchan opened his door, moving outside and resting a hand on top of the car as he leaned down to still look at Daehyun, who raised his eyebrows. “Better ways too.” He jerked his head, motioning Daehyun out of the car. 

Daehyun obeyed with a growing smile, somehow still excited as he undid his seatbelt and slipped from the car. Himchan watched until Daehyun turned away from him before straightening and moving to the front of the car. By the time Himchan got the front, Daehyun had already pulled himself onto the car, legs swinging off the edge of it as he leaned back on his elbows.

He stared up at the sky, his mouth slightly open. Himchan had to smile at his dumb-founded expression, but he understood it as he also raised his eyes.

With all the time they spent in the cities, Himchan had grown used to seeing stars which hardly showed up against a perpetually-reddish night sky. Their normal urban haunts had too much light pollution for a bright night display, but here in rural nowhere, the stars stretched across the sky in a dappled array of glowing pinpricks.

A truck blared its horn from the highway, making both Himchan and Daehyun flinch. Himchan realized they were under a mile away from it, not far from civilization. Hell, if he looked back behind him, and stretched tall enough to look over the car, he could see the road.

Still, with the fields surrounding them and jagger bushes lining the greenspace in front of him, Himchan felt far from what he knew. Daehyun scooched in closer, one of his buttons scraping against the top of the car.

Himchan glanced at him, meeting his eyes just in time to see his smile become a full-out grin. He laid his head onto Himchan’s shoulder and sighed, tension dropping from his shoulders.

Himchan smiled at him, watching his breath stir Daehyun’s hair. He wrapped an arm around him, then tilted his head back again to watch the sky.

In the summer heat, Daehyun’s skin felt too hot against his own, but Himchan found he didn’t mind it. It felt familiar, more comforting than anything else.

The breeze whispered across them, tugging at their shirt collars. Himchan shook his head, the ridiculous situation hitting him hard.

They were stuck in some field somewhere, with a broken-down car and the stars shining above their heads.

Himchan sighed, leaning his head so it rested nearly on top of Daehyun’s. 

“At least it’s an adventure?” Daehyun said, using the side of his head to nudge Himchan, who huffed out an amused chuckle.

“With you it’s always an adventure.”

**Author's Note:**

> As always, feedback is appreciated! Have a nice day :)


End file.
